بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
We are undoubtedly living in difficult times. Trial has affected the world one way or another through the pandemic we are all going through. Doctors and physicians have recommended various practices that we are to adopt in order to minimise the chances of infection. However, many of us are blind to the fact that there has been a far worse disease that we are struggling to contain by not taking the right measures – and that is the disease of the heart.
Long before the current virus came along, we have been suffering at the hands of our own spiritual hearts and yet many of us have not even thought about any kind of containment act. We throw ourselves towards the contagion by constantly sinning, not realising the affects it has on our hearts. Yet when we are advised to use sanitisers for our hands to protect our bodies from disease we do not hesitate to take the necessary measures.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away.
[21:1]
Allah at the beginning of Surah Al Anbiya states that mankind is heedless, that we as human beings simply do not care that our time is drawing near, we ignore the warnings and forget.
No mention comes to them anew from their Lord except that they listen to it while they are at play
[22:2]
Then even when we listen to or take heed of a warning that comes from Allah, we just play around – we do not take it seriously.
Let’s take this principle and apply it to our times now. There are many ways of looking at the crisis that is currently happening in the world but let us focus on one scope – the fact that this could very well be a wake up call.
How are we dealing with it?
Needless to mention that we must take the recommended precautions to protect ourselves and those around us, but what exactly are we doing about the spiritual pandemic that has been around forever? Allah tells us directly that we are turning away from the truth – the fact that our time draws near, the fact that the grave is the only guaranteed destination.
We sanitise our hands to remove dirt, but what about the filth that they have committed? The haram money they have spent; the haram things they have been in contact with. Are we spiritually sanitising them through ablution/purification and keeping them away from the diseased places? This is just one example of many that we must ponder over.
At the end of the day our deaths are inevitable; whether they will be at the hands of an illness or not, it is a reality we must face. We must open our eyes and see the truth. We must protect ourselves and those around us from the haram in this world just as we are trying to protect them from the virus.
At the same time, we must remind ourselves of another ayah:
Do the people think that they will be left to say, “We believe” and they will not be tried?
[29:2]
Trial is part of our life in the dunya and it will come in many forms. At all points though we must remember that the biggest trials we face are not of a physical nature but of a spiritual nature. Illness and death is a big trial upon mankind, but it is at these times that Allah is testing our hearts the most. As He says:
But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.
[29:3]
Are we going to pass this trial by drawing closer to Him through worship? Or are we going to abandon our duties as Muslims owing to the fact that we are not getting what we want? As Allah says, He will surely make evident those are true to their deen and those who are liars.
May Allah cure all those who are ill, Muslims and non-Muslims alike; and may He protect us from all kinds of trials. May He also cleanse our hearts and make this pandemic a means of purifying our souls and make us of the truthful believers.
Allah knows best.